Thoughts from the interface of science, religion, law and culture

After spending several years touring the country as a stand up comedian, Ed Brayton tired of explaining his jokes to small groups of dazed illiterates and turned to writing as the most common outlet for the voices in his head. He has appeared on the Rachel Maddow Show and the Thom Hartmann Show, and is almost certain that he is the only person ever to make fun of Chuck Norris on C-SPAN.

EVENTS

Cantor Lies About IRS and Obamacare

Rep. Eric Cantor, the House majority leader, is telling blatant lies about the Affordable Care Act to his constituents and on the House floor. He says that the law will give the IRS access to all of your healthcare information, like what illnesses you have, what meds you take and so forth. PolitiFact calls this a pants on fire lie.

HHS officials repeatedly have said they will not be seeking intimate details from medical histories and guaranteed the department will not share the information with the IRS, as reported by this spring by our colleagues at PolitiFact National and FactCheck.org.

Again, it should be noted that the data will not be collected on everyone, just those who buy coverage through exchanges. The Congressional Budget Office has estimated that 26 million people living in the U.S. in 2020 — less than 8 percent of population — will be insured by the exchanges.

Twice since May, IRS officials have testified at House hearings that they will not have access to private medical records. The agency’s website states, “Nothing in (Obamacare) allows the IRS to access individual’s health information, including information about individuals’ health status and any health care services received.”

The IRS will share tax information to help HHS determine whether low-income families and individuals qualify for assistance in purchasing insurance. A computer system is being developed that will give HHS instant access to that information. But it will be a one-way system, and the IRS will not be able to view HHS records.

So how will the IRS identify uninsured Americans who must pay Obamacare’s penalty tax?

“Taxpayers will get a form at the end of every year from their insurer to use when they prepare their tax returns,” then-IRS Deputy Commissioner Steven Miller told a House subcommittee in September 2012. “It is important to note that the information that insurers provide to the IRS will show the fact of insurance coverage, and will not include any personal health information.

Comments

Pfft, even if it was true, I trust the IRS more than I trust the generic CSRs that my company wants me to share my medical information with to get a bit of a discount off my rates (it doesn’t even add up to anything significant). It would be nice for a senator or media to actually start reporting the BS that is actually going on in the private sector.

If the IRS wants your health history, they could get it more cheaply from any number of commercial sources. At last word, that kind of thing goes for less than $100 per person and, of course, less in quantity.

Why is it okay that private industry gobbles up this information and sells it, but the suggestion that a government agency is doing so, without evidence and despite evidence to the contrary, sparks utter panic? I’m not thrilled with anyone having this type of information about me who isn’t my doctor.

captainoblivious, you apparently are OK with the captains of industry having private information about us, but not the government. Perhaps you think that private industry is more “efficient” also, without ever considering that the purpose of private industry isn’t to serve the customer, but to make money. Are you one of those who think that most politicians are corrupt – but fail to wonder who pays them? (Rich businessmen can be trusted, but not politicians who take their money.) Eric Cantor would want us all to think these things.